An Evening in Portsmouth with Mr Miles Kane.

I’d been counting down the days (no pun intended) until seeing Miles Kane, one of the most talented, debonair and utterly cool musicians around.

Last Thursday, the blessed day finally arrived and we headed over to the Portsmouth’s Pyramids Centre. After arriving early for a much needed dinner, we found a cute restaurant called Rocksbys where we ordered a delicious Cajan chicken and bacon meal, served by an adorably friendly waitress. I must say, the view was pretty gorgeous- a string of coloured lights and the lapping waves of Southsea beach front.

The Pyramids Centre

I was surprised (and pleased) to see how small the venue was. I’d take an intimate gig over an arena sell-out any day! I was even able to navigate my way to the front of the crowd to get the perfect spot. I couldn’t help but notice the myriad of mod haircuts on display – there were definitely more Paul Weller/Gallagher brother lookalikes than I care to mention (wearing parkas, chewing gum and head bobbing, of course).

The Family Rain

I’ll admit, I hadn’t heard of the support act before. I hadn;t even got as far as a precursory Google so I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, The Family Rain were really good – I’ll post a link to one of their songs so you can enjoy them too! They had a very classic bluesy-rock vibe that you couldn’t help but dance too. I saw a lot of bobbing and foot tapping from the crowd – which to me is a pretty good sign.

I remembered to take a snap – the lead singer looks pretty rad here. (Although how he performed in a leather jacket I’ll never know – he has my full admiration).

Miles Kane

After a tortuously long interval, the stage filled with smoke and Miles appeared onstage. I can safely say that this gig was one of the highlights of my year – so expect some waxin’ lyrical! I could mention the beer spilled over me, the struggle with the heat (it was approx. 1000 degrees), the very unnecessary mosh pits and constant pushing… but no. It’s definitely more important to talk about the amazing performance that exceeded my already high expectations, the sheer volume that Miles covered (the majority of both albums and even a mix thrown in for good measure – The Rolling Stones’ Sympathy For The Devil and his own You’re Gonna Get It) and his admirable trousers. However, my night was really made when Miles smiled at me. What a moment! Eventually the moshing (why is this even a thing?) became too much for me as I was melting like a snow cone in Phoenix and I headed over to the bar. It was definitely worth braving the crowds for the first few songs though. My current favourite tune from the new album is Better Than That (check out the video) and this was performed beautifully alongside Miles’ older hits like Inhaler and Come Closer.

I don’t mind the bruises or the beer stains because I’m still thrilled from being this close to the King of Cool, Miles Kane. The man who smiled at me. Swoon.

Boscombe’s Vintage Market

Hi guys! It’s been a few days – apologies! I’ve been busy writing a new piece for The Glass Pineapple – all will be revealed soon! 

If you follow me on twitter (and if you don’t, you can follow me here) then you may have seen a few pictures from the Vintage Market I attended on Saturday. As you may have gathered, I really enjoy a bit of vintage in my life and markets/fairs are a fantastic source of inspiration- so I urge you all to check if there’s either of the above coming to your town. You won’t regret it.

I’ve added a selection of my favourite images from the day, most of which are floating around my Instagram. I started off by visiting the Vintage Market at the Royal Arcade in Boscombe. There were some great vintage pieces of clothing, quirky decorations and jewellery and general bric-a-brac. There was one stall which sold fantastic dolls, almost Tim Burton-esque in looks but a little more cutesy – I’m glad I snapped a picture below! I’d have bought one if they weren’t that little bit out of my price range. I also visited a vinyl record store, which had some pretty great music (I spotted a couple of Beatles records for under £5 each – bargain!) and meandered down the high street (it’s one of those places that’s a total dive with the odd hidden gem). I followed that with a quick mosey to Boscombe beach.

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon and loved that the sun that was finally shining! It felt like a great excuse to crack out my retro Dahlia playsuit – I adore the colour and 1940s vibe. Before leaving this morning I grabbed a signature ribbon and tied a large black bow (I’m gonna let you into a secret – it was to hide my gross hair). I brought my fur coat for when it got chilly but I was pretty comfortable without it!

 

Like I said – do check if there are any vintage events coming to your home towns! They aren’t something to miss. Hope you all had fantastic weekends!

Happy April.

Hi there. Did everybody have a good Easter?

Today I woke up and it was sunny, which was a lovely surprise! I didn’t get any pictures today as it’s been a bit of a lazy one, although I got one shot of the sunset leaving Tesco today. It’s not a great picture as I took it quickly whilst walking but the colours are beautiful.

I finally got around to checking out the music of Kimbra today, who I guess is largely known as “that girl who sang on that Gotye song”. She’s really good.

Admittedly, I’m more of an Indie-Rock girl and I wouldn’t have imagined myself loving this electronic song based upon samplers and loops, but I was really taken away with how she built up the song just using her voice. This is serious talent. It’s also worth mentioning her great hair and dress sense. Just puttin’ it out there.

To celebrate the sun finally making an appearance I’ve started creating a summer playlist. I am a playlist fan and love the idea of creating set playlists I can look back on and remind myself of the good times. Like a scrapbook for the ears I guess? I’m 4 songs in – a long way to go!

I’m hoping to do a couple of things this week, including making my first skirt and getting an OOTD shoot done!

Tumblr?

Does anybody here have a Tumblr page? If so I’d love to see it – post the link in the comments section and I’ll definitely be following!

I’ve recently developed one to go with this blog, which you can see here. It’s a slight explosion of vintage, famous faces, pretty places and all things girly. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it! Let me know what you guys think!

 

 

The Bournemouth Vintage Fair

I’ve had today marked on the calendar for several weeks. Why? It’s the Bournemouth Vintage Fair! When I lived in Southampton, Vintage Fairs were pretty commonplace, but here? This is the first time I’ve seen one. I hope this is a sign they’re becoming more popular!

To set the scene, the fair was held in the Pavillion theatre, by the lovely Bournemouth seaside. I always enjoy going to Bournemouth, I consider myself incredibly lucky to live by the sea. The building itself was a highly appropriate location, with 1920s Art Deco architecture and decor. The stalls were set up in the ballroom, a place you could imagine dances being held in decades gone by. Is it just me or does an evening ball sound a lot more appealing than spending the early morning hours in an overcrowded sweaty club?

I didn’t have the DSLR with me as it’s the weekend but I took quite a few snaps on my phone, a few of which I’ll share here!

This doesn’t even cover half of the fabulous things the Vintage Fair had to offer – from the rails of dresses – ranging from 1940s to 1980s, tonnes of retro sunglasses, the mass of fur coats, the rails of customised levis and rows of jewellery it was genuinely a heaven to behold.

Did I buy anything? I’m going to be honest – I am in a “too much month left at the end of the money” broke situation.  But I thought it was still worth going, even just for the blog post and inspiration!

Besides, I really enjoyed having the excuse to go a bit vintage.

I wanted to channel a Brigitte Bardot vibe (no change there) and took inspiration from a Bardot picture that’s on my amazing wall collage. I created a half up do and secured it with a thick black ribbon to match my velvet dress.

It’s a super easy look too – simply sweep back the top layer of your hair (backcombing a little helps create the voluminous look Brigitte sports), secure with a hairband! You can also add a ribbon, bow or whatever. Make-up wise, the eyes are the other main feature of all Sixties inspired looks and I simply added a generous line of Rimmel’s Gel Eyeliner to achieve mine.

I hope you all had great weekends and I’ll see you tomorrow for another post!

Readers Choice!

Hi guys!

I love hearing your opinions so tomorrow’s post is totally up to YOU!

Be it fashion, lifestyle or beauty; catwalk, high street, What I Wore, advice, rants, Evie the Kitten or maybe why I think fashion are style are important- the choice is yours.

Comment below with your ideas and ill pick a favourite/the most popular! =]

My Very Honest Account of London Fashion Week.

London Fashion Week ended yesterday and we’re seeing the last few show reports drizzle in. There have been innumerable accounts of the shows, surely in their thousands by this point, but few talk about what London Fashion Week is really like.

And really, why should they? London Fashion Week is an exciting time dedicated to reporting on the styles of next season. Generally, it’s attended by fashion veterans who have attended more shows than I’ve attended shoe sales. They know what they’re doing, so to describe what that exactly is what be entirely pointless. Obviously there’s always going to be newbies and I’m sure you’ve all seen the “OMG, #LFW was AMAZE” statuses or tweets, and yes, as one of those Newbies, I can confirm London Fashion Week is a fantastic experience and I have been so incredibly lucky to experience it. I don’t want this to be my last LFW and really hope to attend the Spring Summer show in September! However, I want to make the point that it’s nowhere near as glitzy as it seems – unless you are a celebrity F-ROWer of course!

For example, when bloggers show off about how amazing the shows  are, they tend to forget to mention the queues (luckily not too bad in my case – although I can imagine some shows are packed!). You queue in the cold outside, and then once you’re inside, you queue again! The main downside for me was the heat inside the building (I don’t know why but I am just terrible in heat. I go bright red and feel lethargic and dizzy. Attractive!). I wasn’t alone – I spotted a few be-jumpered individuals fanning themselves with their programmes. It made me wish I’d grabbed a frozen yoghurt on the way in from the Snog crew (yes, that’s seriously the company name! It was a little alarming to hear “fancy a snog” from vendors!).

I found that most of my fellow bloggers, despite the large online presences they front, are pretty solitary individuals in reality. I genuinely stood in a queue for 20 minutes where no-one spoke – even though we all had so much in common! I was so full of nervous energy and felt poles apart from the calm expressionless faces around me! Fortunately I met one lovely and interesting blogger, Ashley, who writes at Pink Julep – she’s the nicest blogger I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet and has written some fantastic accounts of LFW!

It amazed me how similar some of the Fashion Week go-ers looked. I managed a quick recce around Somerset House and saw many, many girls dresses in coats, with top knots and killer heeled boots. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things (as long as its faux fur!) and they are all things I wear myself, but it surprised me to see so many people looking similar – especially when bloggers tend to pride themselves on being unique, right?

I saw a few LFW participants walking around in pairs and felt rather envious – I wish I had a blogger best friend to attend all these events with!

The shows themselves are pretty spectacular, I must admit – but at the time it’s hard to appreciate it. Bearing in mind this was my very first show so I’m far from a pro. I was focusing so hard on trying to get good pictures, trying to remember little phrases to describe what I was seeing that I barely saw the catwalk but through my camera! It’s exactly like when you photograph a fireworks show; you’re witnessing something spectacular but you only appreciate it looking back at the pictures.

It was a great day out and I’m thrilled to tell people I went! I hope I’ve given everyone a clearer idea of what going to a fashion show is actually like (and that I don’t sound like I’m complaining – I’m really not!). Maybe next time I could Vlog?

Next season I would give my right arm to see Orla Kiely’s show. After looking at pictures of her AW13 collection I am positively drooling and wish I could have seen it in person!

Images courtesy of Memoir Mode

White tights, Peter Pan collars, high waists, t-bar heels and a retro colour palette? The Orla Kiely AW13 collection is total perfection. It encapsulates everything I love!

I think this collection might provide the inspiration for my outfit tonight at the NME Awards – I’m beyond excited to see Miles Kane perform! He’s one of my favourite artists!

Sharp!

Two Videos To Put A Smile On Your Face

1. This may well not be your taste – but this Man About Town video certainly made me smile. Aaron Johnson (or should I say, Aaron Taylor-Johnson now) is a firm favourite. The styling is also fantastic  – yes, I actually managed to notice! But did you expect it to be Dior? No, me neither. FYI: The song is pretty good listening in an early morning situation!

2. I cannot imagine a single person not loving this video – which is why I saved the best to last. This is an Oscar-nominated Disney short and I thought it was simply fantastic. I was utterly captivated by the beautiful animation and storyline. It’s lovely, give it a watch.

Have a good day, everyone!

Playing With the Canon 500D

 

 

This camera seems to be great for picking up detail as you can see in the picture of Evie! I’m loving the ability to focus on certain parts of the picture – cannot wait to take some fashion shots.

Oh, and today the Miles Kane (alright, NME Awards Tour, but he’s playing!) tickets arrived! Only 12 days until the gig… so very excited!

 

A bit indulgent using four different pictures? Nah…Any excuse to prove I’m wearing my H&M bowler hat.

Now, what to wear to the NME show…?

New Talent

For all of you hip-hop fans out there, let me introduce to you some brand new talent!

With a slick fusion of edgy rap and smooth jazz vibes this guy knows his music.

Check him out here!